#23 - What I Would Do If I Was Launching a Business Today
I often get asked about what advice I would give to someone wanting to start a business. And just last week, on an IG poll people voted by a landslide to hear more about that very topic.
Over ten years ago, I launched Sprout Marketing having zero idea of what it would turn into. While I am definitely grateful for the success it’s had, If I were starting over, I would tackle things a little differently and I’m outlining those things in today’s episode.
Have you dreamt of being an entrepreneur since you were a little kid? Is this something that’s on your heart?
This has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done but also one of the most challenging. I’m happy to help you go in without blinders! Know that it will be hard before it’s easy. Some seasons will be great, and others more challenging. We’ve had huge successes and then setbacks that we were forced to surmount and get through.
Would I do it all over again? You betcha!
But here’s how I’d tackle it the second go around!
Get clear on what your BUsiness expertise will be
If you know your passion, and know exactly what type of business you want to start - that’s great!
What if you aren’t sure on what type of business you want to start?
Ask yourself, “What do people (friends or colleagues) ask me for? What do they come to me for, and what am I known for?”
For me it started out as something broad - I was the person that helped tackle a goal with a plan. I decided to use that broad skill and apply it to a niche marketing - multifamily marketing. Combining a skill and an area of experience helped me to launch a business that made sense for me. When it came down to really narrow down our offerings, I asked myself, “What service would I have wished for when I was a property manager that had to do marketing, but was short on time?” That question helped us launch the Sprout Membership & just recently the Simply Social Plan for Multifamily & Simply Social for Real Estate. Your pain points or wishlist can be a huge nudge in the right direction.
You can do the same to use that as a jumping off point! Think about your hobbies, and what you are good at. Go from there!
Will you run your business solo or with a partner?
Some may not know this, but I started Sprout Marketing by myself and initially invited a co-worker to do it with me. Very quickly, she decided to go back to school and take a different path. For about year, my husband was actually my business partner! I bounced ideas off of him and he was so supportive. He even worked the Houston Apartment Association and National Apartment Association tradeshows with me. The ladies loved him! (PS: He no longer does tradeshows with me 😉but he’s still my biggest cheerleader and most days you can find him in a Sprout Marketing t-shirt!)
Ultimately, I made the decision to have an official partner. I was great at closing the sale, and communicating with my clients, fulfilling - but I was struggling on the backend operations of the business. Lauren and I have a great relationship (outside of work as lifelong best friends, but also professionally) and it works wonderfully!
I’ve heard some STORIES.
You should definitely know who you are getting into business with.
Know that their capabilities, work ethic and determination match yours.
I would caution making the decision too early on, and really think it through before making a huge commitment.
A couple of things to ask yourself:
Am I considering a business partner because I’m scared to go at it alone? If this is the case, I would encourage you to really think this through. Confidence will come, but being “stuck” with a partner that isn’t suited will be a handicap in the long run.
If you do go the partner route, will you be equal financial partners? If one brings more experience, clientele or capital you may want to weight ownership differently to match those factors.
Do you want employees?
Huge lesson here. We hired employees after we became profitable. Looking back I don’t know if we would’ve made the same decisions. Sprout Marketing absolutely requires employees right now with the way our business has evolved, but keep in mind you always have options when you are starting out.
Things to consider when deciding if you will hire employees or not:
It will add an entire new level of stress as a business owner and you will feel responsible for your employees and their families. I talk a little bit more about that in my leadership podcast. By no means is it a bad thing to have employees. Weigh all the factors in. Keep that in mind as you make your decision.
If you want a business where you don’t want to manage people, you could opt to hire contractors and that’s a totally viable option depending on your type of business you choose.
Do you want to go the solo-prenuer route? You can choose to take on the work yourself and say, “ I’m taking this on myself and doing it all myself.” Or have your spouse be your partner that steps in to help periodically.
In the end it depends on you and the type of business you want to have. I broke a lot of the rules. I hired friends and family and the majority have been with me for 10+ years. I wouldn’t do it any other way because I wanted to be surrounded by people that I love and trust. Has that meant having some awkward conversations over the years? For sure, but if you can’t handle awkward conversations, you probably shouldn’t undertake a business.
Get set financially to start a business
Ask yourself the tough questions to set up yourself up for financial success down the road. Lauren and I choose not to get a loan at the start. We were able to create our products and didn’t require much money or overhead to get started. My husband was also able to support our family as well during the first few months before profit started to come in. I knew this going in and it was a decision we made as a family.
Factors to consider:
Will you need inventory? Will you need a loan for that?
Is it a product or work that you can do yourself? Or will you need to hire out portions of the business?
Going Debt-Free:
Here is what I’ve found in general. When you operate debt-free you make decisions differently. A certain freedom comes that allows you to make decisions that you might not have made if you had a loan payment hanging over you.
It’s slower to see profit come in and have a paycheck. BUT when it does come in, it’s all yours!
Career or Side Hustle?
One more thing that will affect money is how much time you plan on investing.
Do you want this to become a full-time job eventually? Or will it always be a side hustle that you do on the weekends. If you want it to be your main source of income, consider what steps (or huge leap) you’ll take at the start to have it be that.
Determine your revenue model
When we started Sprout Marketing we were doing one-off consultation projects. We’d get paid for ONE project and I needed to begin looking for a new project right away. That becomes very stressful! When we finished one project either I needed to have something in the pipeline because I was always selling or take some time to sell and not get paid for a while. So needless to say…that got old FAST!
We switched over to a recurring revenue model where we are able to more consistently predict income and billing through a monthly membership program.
My suggestions:
Try to do anything that will generate revenue. I’m talking one-on-one projects, or even doing work at a discounted rate to gain experience and build your portfolio.
Generate cash - that’s your goal! Maybe you have a product you could start with that doesn’t cost much to make - like a printable worksheet. Then you work up to more products that require a larger investment. Or if you are selling a course, could you presell seats or sell a mini tutorial to get people interested? Don’t invest a crazy amount of time into something until you can prove it will generate income.
Remember: if it’s not generating income, it’s a hobby not a business.
Who is your customer?
Who will you serve? Get clear and create your ideal customer avatar. You may think it’s silly and you may think you already know who your customer is, but it is crucial to know exactly who it is at the start.
Please learn from our hard lessons. Lauren and I didn’t do that at the beginning and it allowed us to accept clients that weren’t ideal for us (you may still do this at the start, just to get going). If we had an avatar in mind we could’ve said, “this person is more concerned with price than with quality. Working with them will lead to headaches, stress and ultimately us not being able to make them happy.”
Knowing your avatar allows you to better match your offering to your person. That’s a win-win!
Do your research
You don’t need to be your avatar to speak to your avatar. You’ll need to get specific and be intentional with your language.
FB Groups - Join some groups to see what people are saying on the topic. What are their pain points? You may think you know, but researching and reading the comments to hear it from real people will help you get specific on who your customer is.
Major marketing tip: Take that verbiage and use the most common words you see! In your copy when you create marketing and email campaigns you will be to speak directly to your audience and address their number one concerns in language they relate to. They will feel understood and heard and know that you have a solution for them.
Pinterest and YouTube - Search related topics and pay attention to what else comes up under your main search in suggested. They are search engines. You’ll see what people are actually looking for.
Look to your friends and family. If they are your avatar - talk to them, take notes and keep in mind specific words.
Invest in yourself
I didn’t have much business experience when I started, I had always worked for others. I knew that I would need to invest in myself if I was going to able to have the type of business that I had envisioned. Lauren and I decided to invest in Marie Forleo’s B-School. It was a big investment for us, but we would keep access forever. It was the best blueprint on how to start a business and it’s continued to evolve. Throughout the years, we’ve hired different coaches and worked in different business groups.
Compress decades into days or months by getting a coach that has paved the way before you.
Invest in areas that you are weak. If you aren’t naturally gifted in accounting, get a course to help you get that area of your business sorted.
TIP: While I don’t discourage hiring an accountant, it’s important to know your money flow. Don’t outsource all things related to money!
You can get lean with this as well. If you need a website, and have no idea how…
If you have the time - go ahead and learn! YouTube is a huge resource.
If you don’t - use websites like Upwork to find freelancers that can do it for you. Some are just starting out as well, and could be willing to negotiate.
Make a list of responsibilities and decide what you will tackle or hire out.
How will you Communicate with your customer
Early on, we did a lot of education, and I was the face of the company which was good and bad. Good because people in our industry wanted to work with us, but difficult to overcome at times. People would want to work with Sprout Marketing and instead of working with our stellar team, they wanted to work directly with me (not scalable). Not because I’m the best! Just because that’s who they had seen. It took some time to overcome that challenge and build up the team’s reputations as well.
Will you be the face of your company?
Will you have other people showcase your work for you?
When will you communicate? Stay consistent with whatever you choose! Pick one platform and show up regularly. For a fun blast from the past, check out the “Q & A” Youtube videos that I started with.
Have a way to capture leads off of that platform. Direct them to your website.
Use opt-ins. They can exchange their emails for something small that you can give to them!
What we love:
Squarepace - easy to build out blogs, to capture leads, create opt-ins, and send email correspondence directly from there.
TapBio - you’re able to have several links at your bio. You can change out the buttons regularly to feature whatever is new.
To sum it up, I have loved this crazy adventure called entrepreneurship. It has challenged me (and aged me), but I have grown so much from the girl I was ten years ago. You’ll reach new levels of confidence as you overcome new challenges. You’ll learn skills you never would have thought possible. And the word resilience will have a whole new meaning.
It isn’t for the faint of heart, but if after reading or listening to this episode you still feel drawn to take on this dream, I’ll be here rooting you on.
Reach out to me with questions at barbara@watchyourbusinesssprout.com or shoot us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to chat, answer any other questions and see you plant the seeds and WATCH YOUR BUSINESS SPROUT!
Links we mentioned: